Could renewable power be Port Augusta’s saviour?
THE “dominoes” are lined up for Port Augusta to switch from coal-fired to solar thermal power generation and advocates are urging governments to summon the “political will” to secure the project….(subscribers only)
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/solar-thermal-power-push-to-keep-jobs-in-port-augusta/news-story/dd0e42df6d28e5e0bb5959966ac676be
Port Augusta community keenly concerned about renewable energy versus nuclear industry developments
Key points:
- Regional job losses and nuclear royal commission findings have some locals worried
- Government minister Geoff Brock says no nuclear decisions have been taken
- Tomato greenhouses using desalinated water are praised for creating local jobs
Hundreds of residents are expected at Port Augusta’s Central Oval complex to quiz visiting Government ministers on a range of issues including jobs.
The regional city is gearing for an imminent closure of Alinta’s Port Augusta power stations.
Mayor Sam Johnson expressed hope a range of options including hydroponic farming and renewable energy projects would create a secure future for the Port Augusta region.
“There is an area around Port Augusta which is clearly one of the world’s best sites when it comes to wind … also [ideal for] solar virtually from just south of Port Augusta right up to Roxby Downs,” he said.”As you go over towards Whyalla and Cowell, [that area] has been identified for anyone that wants to invest in wave technology.”
Government ministers are expected to tour Sundrop Farms’ vast tomato greenhouses at Port Augusta, which use desalinated sea water for crop production in the arid region. State Regional Development Minister Geoff Brock praised such ventures at a time of job losses elsewhere. “They will have around 200 people working there full-time and the good thing about this [is] Sundrop have just won an innovative award in Germany on an international scale,” he said.
“They’re going to have the research and development [functions] located at Port Augusta, so this is state of the art.”
Radioactive nuclear waste worries for northern SA residents
Nuclear concerns will also be high on the agenda for the public forum and for Cabinet as it meets in the far north region. The Port Augusta Mayor said there was significant local concern about the future prospect of radioactive waste being transported through the northern region.
Mr Johnson said talk of a possible nuclear waste facility for the state’s north was a hot topic among residents. He said if any high-level waste was ever shipped in via Whyalla or Port Pirie, it would also be likely to be transported through Port Augusta.
“The only way to go … is through Port Augusta, which has a two-lane bridge which has been in need of a little bit of work,” he said.
“There’s effectively no alternative detour access route and should there be an incident that occurs on that bridge then that has significant impacts not just for Port Augusta but also potentially the eco or marine environment.”…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-28/jobs-nuclear-waste-port-augusta-forum-country-cabinet/7205842
Australia’s Labor and Liberal Parties unite in dismissing community concerns on nuclear waste dumping
Liberal and Labor vote to ignore waste dump community concerns 22 Feb 2016 | Scott Ludlam The Labor and Libberal parties have voted together against a senate motion acknowledging the community opposition to each of the six locations shortlisted as a site for a nuclear waste dump.
“It’s not as though this motion asked a lot of the government, but for the opposition to cower from it is disappointing and weak,” Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Nuclear Issues Spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam said today.
“The government is shirking their own process. After months of assurances that they would heed community concerns, they’re desperately trying to downplay those concerns or ignore them altogether.
“We should be investigating all avenues to minimise waste, we should have a genuinely independent inquiry to investigate long-term stewardship options for spent fuel, reprocessing wastes, and other categories of radioactive waste. And we certainly should categorically rule out the importation of international nuclear waste,” Senator Ludlam concluded.
The senate motion opposed by Labor and the Coalition can be viewed here: http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/motions/strong-local-opposition-all-6-proposed-nuclear-waste-dump-sites
Will the Australian govt impose a Lucas Heights nuclear waste dump on a South Australian community?
We will soon see how much in a rush the government is with the issue. Will it try to find a site by any means, even if this implies imposing it on a community or will it take its commitment not to do so seriously and maybe take the steps necessary to find a long-lived solution to a long-lived problem?| By Anica Niepraschk , 29 February 2016 The federal government – once again – is looking for a place to dump its nuclear waste. All attempts over the last twenty years have failed – and so might this one, at least if the government is sticking to the promises it made in its new approach.The process is to be voluntary and no dump is to be located anywhere without community consent. These are the words at least. 28 sites across Australia had been nominated by landowners last year and were reduced to a shortlist of six by the Department for Resources.
The six sites are in Hale (NT), not far from Alice Springs, Hill End in NSW, Oman Ama in Queensland and three sites in South Australia: two in the Kimba region (Cortlinye and Pinkawillinie) and Wallerbidina/ Barndioota, outside Hawker. The South Australian shortlisted sites also get increasingly entangled in a debate as to whether the state might offer itself up as the world’s nuclear waste dump, accepting high-level nuclear waste from power reactors around the world. This was the key prospect outlined in the tentative findings of the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, released last week. All six sites are so far highly contested by the local communities, Continue reading |
South Australia a great State not a Waste State – communities visit Federal Parliament
Flinders Ranges and Kimba residents voicing nuclear concerns to Federal Parliament http://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/3753842/local-voice-on-nuclear-goes-national/?cs=1538 28 Feb 16
FLINDERS Ranges and Kimba representatives will travel to Parliament House in Canberra next week, with delegates from three other sites across Australia targeted for a national radioactive waste dump joining them.
South Australia has three nominated sites – two at Kimba and one just north of Hawker in the Flinders Ranges. The visit comes a week before the closure of public comment on the National Radioactive Waste Management Project on March 11.
Meetings have been requested with the key decision maker federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg and other ministers to discuss community concerns ahead of the submission deadline.
Toni Scott and her family neighbour in Kimba a part of a group of locals within affected areas.She has been in regular contact and feels taking their message directly to Canberra will be an important way to step up campaigning efforts to ensure community concerns are recognised and reflected. “We are going to Canberra because our concerns must be heard,” Ms Scott said.
“Communities deserve to be treated better than what this process has delivered thus far and we want to get our message across face to face.”
Regina McKenzie has regularly spoken against the planned proposal near Hawker.“Its important that we get the message through to the government – no means no,” Ms McKenzie said.”We don’t want to live next to a radioactive waste dump. “SA is a great state not a waste state.”
AGL proceeding with Silverton wind farm project in far west NSW
AGL vows to go ahead with Silverton wind farm project in far west NSW ABC Broken Hill
By Declan Gooch 27 Feb 16 Energy company AGL has reaffirmed its commitment to the Silverton wind farm project in far west New South Wales, and says studies of the site will get under way within weeks.
The proposed site along the Barrier Ranges just outside the Silverton township was first proposed in 2007 by Epuron, but stalled after AGL took over in 2012. AGL blamed uncertainty about the federal government’s Renewable Energy Target for the pause, with development approval set to run out in May.
The company announced at a community meeting on Thursday night it applied that day to have another five years added to the approval, and announced a new project manager, Adam Mackett.”We’re already doing work through the hydrogeological study where we’re committed to this project, so we’re showing that,” Mr Mackett said. “It is a half-a-billion-dollar project so before we then fully commit to constructing it we need to do a bit of work.”
Mr Mackett is no stranger to the state’s far west, having managed the construction of the Broken Hill solar farm around 25 minutes away. He also oversaw the construction of South Australia’s Hallett wind farm.
“We’re confident of having [the Silverton project] extended, we think the Silverton wind farm is a fantastic opportunity.”
AGL hopes the wind farm will generate enough power to supply around 120,000 average homes.
Funding will be contributed from AGL’s newly-announced Powering Australian Renewables Fund, which will be seeded partly by the Broken Hill solar farm……… AGL said it hopes its Powering Australian Renewables fund will be set up by the middle of the year, and that the extension to the project’s approval will be signed off in the next three months. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-26/agl-vows-to-go-ahead-with-silverton-wind-farm-project/7202338
Australia at risk of missing its 2020 renewable energy target
Some continue to blame the sluggish investment on the uncertainty created by then Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s ferocious push across 2014 and 2015 to cut the renewable energy target. Last year the government and Labor struck a deal to lower the target.
In recent times there have been some positive signs of movement.. This month energy giant AGL launched an investment fund aimed at delivering 1000 megawatts worth of renewable energy, while Origin Energy head Grant King was quoted saying his company was preparing to back new projects………
Australia risks missing clean power goals, with households to pick up the bill, SMH, February 28, 2016 Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age Australia risks not hitting its 2020 renewable energy target with analysts now forecasting that interim goals will be missed – a situation that will trigger penalties that households will have to pay.
Many in the energy industry agree that this year will be “make or break” for achieving the end-of-decade target, which aims to deliver about 23 per cent of Australia’s electricity from clean technologies such as wind and solar.
“This year is critical” said Kane Thornton, who heads the Clean Energy Council……….. Continue reading
Gas company APA joins throng to spend on renewable energy projects
APA aims to ramp up renewable energy spending, The Age February 28, 2016 Brian Robins APA wants a seat at the table in the multibillion-dollar investment boom in renewable energy sources over the next few years amid national moves to meet the mandated renewable energy target.
This month, AGL said it might launch a $3 billion fund to build renewable energy projects such as wind and solar farms.
Rival Origin Energy said it might invest in similar projects but would most likely buy the output under long-term contracts.
Under federal government policy, one-fifth of electricity must be sourced from renewable energy by 2020. The move is expected to hasten the closure of heavily polluting coal-fired power stations…….
APA is considering several projects, including a potential solar farm in Western Australia, if it wins support from Australian Renewable Energy Agency funding and signs a power sales agreement. It is also bidding on an estimated 90MW of wind turbine capacity in the Northern Territory………http://www.theage.com.au/business/apa-aims-to-ramp-up-renewable-energy-spending-20160224-gn2a1g.html
Exposing the vested interests of pro nuclear publicists like Oscar Archer
Dennis Matthews, 26 Feb 16 The Advertiser newspaper has been printing lots of Letters to the Editor on the nuclear issue.
Two pro-nuclear letters caught my attention.
One was by a writer (Oscar Archer) who is regular contributor to a pro-nuclear website, and who prides himself on having a PhD in Chemistry. The PhD, however, is in an area of chemistry not evenly faintly related to nuclear issues and is no basis for claiming any special insight. What is highly relevant however is that the supervisor of his thesis was Stephen Lincoln who, as a member of the board of SA Nuclear Energy Systems, has a vested interest in promoting the nuclear industry.
Another letter was written by a geologist (Sean Kennedy) who was one of the people acknowledged by Senator Edwards as contributing to his submission calling for an integrated nuclear industry in SA.
Noel Wauchope – Oscar Archer is a star publicist for the nuclear lobby. And – he really gave the game away in a talk on ABC Radio National “Ockham’s Razor” – in which he elaborated the plan of USA nuclear industry “new nukes” – their idea to set up a suite of experimental SMRs -Small Modular Reactors in Australia at their own expense. All Australia has to do to get these is to invite in the world’s radioactive trash. They don’t mention that SMRs need plutonium or enriched uranium to start the reaction – so Australia would have to import those, to get these reactors working.
Interesting that they just call them “SMRs” – leaving out that unpopular word “Nuclear”. As USA govt has difficult safety regulations for setting up new nuclear reactors, why not have Australia be the guinea pig?
Adelaide Advertiser poll – nearly all supporters of nuclear waste import had vested interests!
Dennis Matthews, It was heartening to see that in a survey stacked with vested interests (The Advertiser, 23/2/16), of those who had no apparent vested financial or professional interest only two people supported the importation of high-level nuclear waste into South Australia and one of those had imprecise information about Finland.
Stacking inquiries and surveys is a trade mark of the nuclear lobby.
I look forward to the day when we can trust the business community, media and politicians to be honest with the people of South Australia and to stop treating us as like idiots.
Naively, I thought this would have happened after the State Bank fiasco in 1991. Consecutive South Australian Premiers have clearly demonstrated that they have learnt nothing from past indiscretions.
It is now up to ordinary South Australians to keep South Australia free from exploitation by vested interests and incompetent politicians.
China criticises Australia’s ‘Cold War mentality’,in its planned $150 billion military spendup
Defence white paper shows Australia’s ‘Cold War mentality’, says China, February 26,2016 Philip Wen China correspondent for Fairfax Media
Shanghai: China has accused Australia of maintaining a “Cold War mentality” with its alliance with the United States, following the release of the Turnbull government’s defence white paper which criticised China’s role in rising tensions in the South China Sea.
At a regular press briefing in Beijing, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian said China was “seriously concerned” about the contents in the white paper, and that it was “firmly opposed to the accusations against China’s construction activities on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea”.
“We urge the Australian side to cherish the hard-won good momentum of development in bilateral relations, and don’t take part in or conduct any activities that may compromise the stability in the region,” Colonel Wu said at Thursday’s briefing, alluding to pressure on Australia to join the United States in sailing warships within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificial islands in the sea in so-called freedom of navigation operations…….. http://www.smh.com.au/world/defence-white-paper-shows-australias-cold-war-mentality-says-china-20160226-gn4d6j.html#ixzz41PmdN1zf
Australia’s $150 billion Defence white elephant spending
Sub-standard plan for Defence, SMH, February 27, 2016 Michael West Business columnist After a welter of strategic press leaks, targeted with the precision of a laser-guided missile, the 2016 Defence white paper was finally unveiled this week.
Defence spending has the added allure of political expedience. Who can argue with a government bent on safeguarding its citizens from future unspecified invaders? Certainly not the opposition……
It may cost taxpayers $150 billion.
Although the cost to design and build each of the 12 submarines is mooted at $4 billion – just shy of a Medibank float – the cost of running them is far greater. They describe the submarine spend as the “largest defence procurement program in Australia’s history”.
Chance of attack is small
The white paper concedes there is but a remote chance of a military attack on Australian territory by a hostile foreign power. Further, it says Australia cannot afford to equip, train and prepare its military forces solely for the remote prospect of such a major attack.
This would leave the defence forces less capable of addressing the wide range of more likely threats Australia faced to 2035.
So the policy is therefore to devote unprecedented billions of dollars, the biggest defence outlay ever, to build submarines on the implausible chance of a foreign military attack.
China is not discussed much, though it is deemed by Defence to be the biggest threat. There are a few brief references in the paper though there is no discussion of what sort of force we would need if China were to attack.
And you don’t have to be a defence guru to work out that Australia would stand little chance of withstanding a Chinese military with its 70 submarines, 2.3 million frontline personnel and $US155 billion defence budget.
The white paper’s submarine analysis is flimsy. The first subs only become operational in the 2030s, at the end of the strategic environment which the paper addresses.
It fails moreover to establish why this weapon system is superior to far more agile, responsive and modern air and surface weapon systems for meeting the faint threat of invasion, or how the huge outlay is justified……
The public deserves better than for this critical issue of defence spending to be treated as such a sacred cow that there is no debate about it in Parliament and no more than feeble inquiry in the mainstream media.
You could select the tiniest thing on the share market and bet it would boast superior disclosures to Defence white paper 2016.
Rather than having cash thrown at them willy-nilly, the armed forces should undergo the same blow-torch as other institutions. You can bet there is a lot more fat in defence than the ABC (whose white paper coverage has also been lame).: http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/substandard-plan-for-defence-20160226-gn4cx3.html#ixzz41PkqKAgL
#NuclearCommissionSAust ‘s plan – not necessarily an Eldorado for South Australia
SA’s Nuclear Waste Boom: A Hot Story Requires Cool Heads http://adelaidereview.com.au/opinion/business-finance-opinion/nuclear-waste-boom-a-hot-story-requires-cool-heads/ John Spoehr Director of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute at Flinders University February 26, 2016
As the alluring prospect of a nuclear waste storage boom fades a little in our minds, attention needs to turn to the risks associated with large–scale radioactive waste storage…….
I think the Commission’s estimates might prove to be over-optimistic. If the proposition is as attractive as the modeling provided by the Commission suggests, then you would expect a range of players to enter the market at the same time as Australia does……
We cannot rely on a radioactive storage facility to deliver short-term benefit. ‑The lead times on a project like this are long and will be complicated by the need for very thorough and accurate geological, environmental, social and economic impact assessment. Community attitudes will be shaped by this as it unfolds.
In the meantime, we must guard against seeing the Commission’s findings as the foundation for some kind of nuclear Eldorado. The prospect of great riches and jobs flowing from being a storehouse for radioactive material is seductive at a time when job losses in the automotive, mining and steel industries loom large. We must be convinced rather than seduced by the case for a storage facility in South Australia. Future generations will not forgive us if we get this one wrong.
Australian Senate passes motion calling on Western Australia to drop Anti-Protest Law
Federal Senate Urges WA Parliament To Drop Anti-Protest Law, New Matilda, By Thom 
Mitchell on February 24, 2016 The Federal Senate has passed a motion calling on the West Australian government to abandon “divisive and unnecessary” anti-protest laws which have been strongly condemned by the United Nations.
The motion, introduced by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert and passed on the voices, adds to a long list of institutions and individuals who are concerned about what Colin Barnett’s government is proposing.
Last week three separate United Nations Special Rapporteurs issued a joint statement condemning the anti-protest laws, saying it would have the “chilling affect of silencing dissenters”.
“It would go against Australia’s international obligations under international human rights law, including the rights to freedom of opinion and expression as well as peaceful assembly and association,” the three Special Rapporteurs said.
Hundreds of people protested against the bill at the West Australian Parliament yesterday, and a coalition of more than 80 community organisations, legal centres, and unions have signed an open letter opposing the bill. The Federal Senate this afternoon noted “the important role public protest and free speech have played, and continue to play in a healthy democratic society”. However that role may be dramatically curtailed by the time West Australia’s Parliament adjourns tonight.
The bill is being progressed in the lower house of the state Parliament this afternoon, having moved through the upper house last week.
The legislation will inevitably pass, because the Barnett Government controls both houses, but it faced nearly a year of staunch opposition from Labor and the Greens.
The anti-protest law creates two new criminal offences. Under the first, it will become illegal to physically and intentionally prevent a lawful activity being carried out. And under the second, it will become illegal to possess with the intent of using, or to use a “thing” to prevent a lawful activity.
On top of this extremely broad drafting, there is concern that the onus of proof is reversed for both new offences. The President of the West Australian Law Society, Mathew Keogh has previously said that the bill “may erode fundamental aspects of our criminal justice system”.
“The legislation is so broad that it is almost impossible to say how they may be applied down the track,” he said……..
Senator Siewart takes a different view, arguing “were it not for peaceful protest, awful projects such as James Price Point would have gone ahead”.
“The anti-protest laws that Colin Barnett is pushing through State Parliament attacks free speech, public protest and a healthy democratic society,” Siewart said.
“I urge Colin Barnett to consider the calls of the Senate, as well as the United Nations, and abandon these divisive and unnecessary laws,” she said. https://newmatilda.com/2016/02/24/federal-senate-urges-abandonment-of-anti-protest-law-as-wa-parliament-prepares-to-pass-it/
Australian govt’s new fossil fuel “growth centre” !
Coalition digs deeper into fossil fuels with new “growth centre” http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/coalition-digs-deeper-into-fossil-fuels-with-new-growth-centre-82395 By Sophie Vorrath on 25 February 2016
Part of the government’s $248 million Industry Growth Centres Initiative, the Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Growth Centre was unveiled on Wednesday by federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg and minister for innovation and industry, Christopher Pyne. The ministers said they hoped the facility – in which the Turnbull government is investing $15.4 million over four years – would help position Australia’s energy and resources sector for the next wave of investment.
It will be chaired by long-time oil and gas industry executive, Ken Fitzpatrick, with a board and management team drawn from across the oil, gas, coal seam gas, coal and uranium industries.
According to the website, the growth centre’s mission is to reduce industry costs, direct research to industry needs, improve work skills, facilitate partnerships and reduce regulatory burdens.
It will also have a particular focus on improving knowledge and techniques needed to unlock Australia’s marginal gas resources like coal-seam gas – a controversial and high-cost field of exploration and production that AGL Energy recently ruled out of its repertoire to focus, instead, on the “evolution” of the energy industry.
Pyne says the new growth centre – which will be known as National Energy Resources Australia, or NERA – will work closely with researchers from universities and the newly streamlined CSIRO, the irony of which was not lost on critics of the scheme.
“Pouring millions of dollars into research for the fossil fuel industry adds insult to injury for the CSIRO climate scientists who are set to lose their jobs under Malcolm Turnbull and his government’s watch,” said Greens energy spokesman Adam Bandt on Thursday.
“Not only is the Liberal government allowing the CSIRO to cut climate science, it’s making the scientists who don’t lose their job try to breathe life into the dying fossil fuel industries.
“(It) is pouring millions of dollars into a big hole in the ground, which is directly at odds with what the science tells us we must do,” Bandt said.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said the establishment of NERA amounted to another multi-million dollar subsidy to big polluting energy companies. “This money would be better spent extending the funding of the Australian Climate Change Science Program which is due to expire in June this year,” said ACF climate program manager Victoria McKenzie-McHarg.
“The world has changed since the Paris agreement. This budget the government should focus on supporting the science, technology and clean energy innovation of the future, not keep subsidising pollution.”
“Australia’s energy and resources sectors make a vital contribution to the Australian economy,” said Frydenberg in a statement on Thursday. “During this challenging time, the Growth Centre will drive collaboration and innovation, and direct research to industry needs, ultimately improving productivity to ensure Australia remains globally competitive.”
1 This month.
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 